5 first time world champions to expect in WWE in 2018

Turn back the clock to December 2016, and no one would have guessed that Jinder Mahal would spend half of the year to follow reigning as WWE Champion. That’s representative of one of the greatest qualities of WWE programming.

While there tip top stars who remain featured for years and years—the John Cenas and Randy Ortons of the world—each year also sees new stars rise up to the top.

So who will ascend to world champion status—winning the WWE or Universal Championship for the first time in 2018? We can never know for sure because, while some pushes evolve organically, others are less planned or happen because of a need, like The Great Khali moving up in 2006, or Kevin Owens winning the Universal Championship in 2016 after Finn Balor got hurt.

This article takes a look at five first time champions to expect in WWE in 2018. The list includes some guys already knocking on the door of the main event, but also some names that just might surprise you.

#5 Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman is very much in line for a title reign.

At the present moment, there’s a very real argument that Braun Strowman is the biggest full-time star not named Roman Reigns on the WWE roster. Strowman is exactly the sort of big man Vince McMahon traditionally salivates over.

Add onto that that he has succeeded in legitimately connecting with the audience. He even proved himself in the ring with some rock solid performances opposite The Big Show, Reigns, in the SummerSlam main event Fatal Fourway.

The only thing Strowman is missing? A world championship reign.

While other guys on this countdown have picked up the top titles in other promotions, Strowman is a legitimately fresh face on the main event level on any platform. After being booked to contend with Brock Lesnar in 2017, and even picking up a clean win on Reigns, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he gets the node for the Universal or WWE Championship.